SJ used Rafi and Lata successfully between 1963 and 1967.

Shankar Jaikishan were the musical duo who ruled bollywood films between the 1950s and 1960s. During 1963, a spat occurred between Mohammad Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar over royalty. When the spat took place between Mohammad Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar over the issue of royalty, between 1963 to 1967, both of them did not sing any duet songs. Lata contended that singer should receive royalty for their entire life for songs sung in films. Rafi contended that if singers don’t share the losses suffered by the film industry, they should not also share the profits.1964 to 1967 were the years when Shankar Jaikishan had the commitment in composing music for the maximum number of films. In 1964, Shankar Jaikishan composed music in the films Sangam, Ayee Milan Ki Bela, Apne Hue Paraye, April Fool, Beti Bete, Raj Kumar, Sanjh Aur Sawera and Zindagi. Very significantly Shankar Jaikishan used both Mohammad Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar in these films and managed to compose the duets for other singers with Mohammad Rafi and they all become immortal hits.

In Biswajeet Saira Banu’s film April Fool, SJ used Rafi for solo songs like “aa gale lag ja”, “april fool banaya”. In case of duets SJ used Suman Kalyanpur opposite Rafi and songs became successful like “kehedo kehedo jahan se kehedo”, “tujhe pyar karte hain”. The film did excellent business.

In Rajender Kumar Saira Banu’s Ayee Milan Ki Bela, Lata and Rafi’s duet was recorded before the spat began. The duet was “o sanam tere ho gaye hum”. There was another duet “aha aye Milan ki bela” which was sung by Rafi and Asha. Rafi’s solo songs in the film like “mai pyar ka diwana”, “tum khamseen ho” became smash hits.

In Rajender Kumar Vaijayantimala’s Zindagi, SJ used Lata for solo songs like “hum pyar ka sauda karte hai” and Rafi for solo song “pehele mile the sapno me”. The duet song was sung by Rafi and Asha “ghungarwa mora chamcham baaje”.

SJ in 1965

In 1965, Shankar Jaikishan composed music in the films Janwar, Gumnaam and Aarzoo. All the films were musical blockbusters.

In Manoj Kumar Nanda’s Gumnaam, SJ used Rafi and Sharda for the duet song “jane chaman shola badan” which became smash hit. SJ used Rafi for solos like “hume kalen hai to kya hua”, “ek ladki ne” and Lata for the song “gumnaam hai koi”.

In Rajender Kumar Sadhna’s Aarzoo, majority of the songs were solo in nature. So SJ did not require to improvise in respect of duets. Lata’s solo songs were “aji ruth kar ab”, “bedardi balma” while Rafi’s solos included “chalke teri ankho se”, “ae nargisi begana”, “ai phoolon ki raani”. All the songs became super hit.

In Shammi Kapoor Rajashri’s Janwar, there was one duet song of Rafi that was “dekho ab to”. There were lot of solo songs of Rafi like “lalchari maidan khari”, “meri muhabbat jawan raha hai”, etc. Suman Kalyanpur’s solo song “mere sang ga gunguna” had classical andaz and created attention.

In 1967, patch up took place between Lata and Rafi and thereafter duets were sung again. SJ composed music in many films in 1967 including An Evening in Paris, Aman, Diwana, Choti Si Mulakat, Around The World, Latt Sahab, Hare Kaanch Ki Churiya, etc.

The use of Rafi and Lata in solos and the use of Suman Kalyanpur, Mubarak Begum and others opposite Mohammad Rafi in duets when the situation demanded were done successfully by Shankar Jaikishan. Music never suffered during 1963 to 1967. Shankar Jaikishan’s royalty toward Mohammad Rafi also continued. The music in the films referred above had every form of song including pure classical songs, semi-classical songs, ghazals, qawallies, rock and roll songs, folk music, etc. The films and the music require publicity and restoration.

Comments

Dear Madanji,Thanks a lot for the comments. Rafi was used in the same way by Shankar Jaikishan between 1963 to 1967, the year of spat between Lata and Rafi, the way he was used in the previous years.Souvik Chatterji

Dear Shivaji,Thanks a lot for the comments. A lot of singers were used by Shankar Jaikishan, including Suman Kalyanpur, Sudha Malhotra, Mubarak Begum, Asha Bhosle. All chipped in well. Rafi was elegant as usual.Souvik Chatterji.

Dear Sunilji,There is no evidence relating to the information. In fact Shankar and Jaikishan divided their work relating to composition of music even in the 1950s and 1960s. All of a sudden the music industry became jeolous and allegations came in baselessly. Whenever Shankar composed the songs in the 50s and 60s, Shailendra wrote the lyrics of the songs. Whenever Jaikishan composed the songs Hasrat Jaipuri wrote the lyrics of the songs. There was big contribution of Dattaram and Sebastian in majority of work of SJ. It was a pity that Shailendra died in 1966 and Jaikishan died in 1971, whereafter the team was broken. In respect of female singers, even Jaikishan used Mubarak Begum in "mujko apne gale laga lo" in the film Humrahi, Suman Kalyanpur in "juhi ki kali meri laadli" in Dil Ek Mandir. Those compositions were created after good share of melodious songs being given to Lataji. The singers chosen were selected on merit rather than personal preference.Souvik Chatterji.